Five days a week, four hours a day, Zach takes old laptops, tablets and cellphones and makes them almost new again as part of the team at Refreshed Tech.
The Angola firm that refurbishes used electronics was founded in 2022 with 18 employees and now has 74. Zach and one other person work part-time; all the other employees are full-time.
Zach’s job is cleaning used devices, mainly from schools and other large organizations. There’s a clear checklist to follow:
- Peel off old stickers
- Wipe down the device
- Clean the top
- Clean the keys
- Clean the screen
- Check parts to see whether anything is broken
He came to Refreshed Tech with considerable workplace experience, after working at a fast-food restaurant for more than a decade. He left there when changes in management and short staffing made the job less enjoyable for Zach.
After the restaurant job, Zach worked with Easterseals employment specialist Ayreal Lanman to find a new job. It didn’t take long. Lanman helped train another worker at Refreshed Tech and saw that worker succeed. Lanman also saw accommodations that Refreshed Tech provided.
“Zach likes routine, and this position is mostly repetitive, so I figured it would be a good change of pace for him,” Lanman said. “He also enjoys technology, and that is the sole focus at Refreshed Tech.”
Zach likes the work much better than his previous job, which was mainly cleaning at the restaurant.
“I’m not moving around as much; I’m always in one spot,” he said. Almost all his work is done sitting or standing at the same large, sturdy workbench.
“It’s a lot more comfortable, and I get to listen to music as much as I want,” he said.
Zach has tapped into another employee benefit: Refreshed Tech sells employees – at cost – devices it refurbishes. He’s bought himself a phone.
One of the things Zach learned in his years at the restaurant was the importance of attendance and punctuality on the job. That shows in Zach’s work for Refreshed Tech. He’s been absent only one day since he was hired in March, said Kathy Stellhorn, the director of human resources at Refreshed Tech.
“If he’s late, it’s probably the (public transportation) ran late,” she said.
“We can usually tell; he’s very upset when he comes in” after his ride made him late, she said.
Punctuality and attendance are so important because Zach is one of only 14 employees in the cleaning department, which is the first stop for used laptops, tablets and mobile phones. If people cleaning computers don’t move 200 or more devices an hour, employees who repair and test electronics will be left without work.
“He’s a hard worker. He wants to do well. He has a very positive attitude,” Stellhorn said. “He gets along very well with everybody.”
Zach is friendly and sociable, but sometimes his social nature can interfere.
“He’s a social butterfly. He gets talking, and he gets distracted,” Stellhorn said.
When that happens and the supervisor reminds him to ramp up the number of pieces he cleans, it can be frustrating for him. But supervisors at Refreshed Tech have seen that he can respond productively.
“He’s a competitor when he knows he has to speed up,” Stellhorn said. “He even does a little smash talk once in a while.”
That’s where the music he’s allowed to listen to becomes particularly helpful. When demands at work frustrate him, he steers his song selections to heavy metal, such as Slipknot, Avenged Sevenfold, or Korn.
Music makes even the best days better, too. One recent shift, he listened to Backstreet Boys.
“It brings me back to my childhood,” said Zach, who is 35.
Lanman, the Easterseals employment specialist, said she still checks in on him as part of Easterseals’ extended services. But if he continues improving at his job as he has been, he may transition out of services in May, she said.
“I am very proud of him and all of his hard work,” Lanman said.